Used Trucks Are A Better Value
Posted by Jason Krasinskas on Thu, Mar 31, 2011
Mike Spanoli buys only used trucks for the family business. Simply, they cost far less than new units and, if managed correctly, some used trucks can perform almost like new vehicles. “For the price of one new truck, I can buy two or three used tractors and used refrigerated trucks.” says the president of Spanoli Brothers.
Maintaining a fleet of 10 tractors and 32 straight trucks is no easy task…but the key to their decision is that today's Class 8 tractors are designed to run for a million miles. Since the fleet typically buys used trucks with between 200,000 and 300,000 miles on them, they have many more years of good service before major maintenance is needed. “Most diesels don't need overhaul until 700,000 miles, so we might get another 300,000 to 500,000 miles out them before that expense comes due,” he explains.
Those advantages can disappear, if used trucks aren't maintained properly. Spanoli says, “You can run a used truck to one-million miles if you buy one with good specs and if it's well-maintained. You can get near-new truck performance if you take care of it.”
Spanoli’s fleet operations decided to hold onto their equipment for several more years rather than take a loss on the reduced trade-in value. And the bargain basement prices encouraged others to buy used rather than new. Demand also increased because some fleets wanted to avoid buying new trucks spec'd with engines modified to meet the stricter emissions regulations.
Spanoli Bros uses a truck software system to track costs for each used truck. “For preventive maintenance, I pay a set fee each month that is entered online. Any repair work beyond that is billed to me directly and I enter it online to keep track of costs,” he explains.
“Why would I buy new trucks, when I can spread our funds into other areas of growth in our company?”